Jumpstart Opportunities in Nursing in Long-Term Care (JOIN LTC)

Incentives for Full-Time Positions

• Up to $25,000 for nurses who make a commitment to work in a publicly funded long-term care home for 24 months.
• An additional $10,000 for nurses who make an employment commitment to a long-term care home in a rural, remote or Northern Ontario community.
• An additional $10,000 relocation incentive for nurses who move at least 100 km to a rural, remote or Northern Ontario community for the purpose of pursuing employment in long-term care.

Full-time positions must be at least 30 hours per week over the two-year employment commitment.

Incentives for Part-Time Positions

• Up to $12,500 for nurses who make a commitment to work in a publicly funded long-term care home for 24 months.
• An additional $5,000 for nurses who make an employment commitment to a long-term care home in a rural, remote or Northern Ontario community.
• An additional $5,000 relocation incentive for nurses who move at least 100 km to a rural, remote or Northern Ontario community for the purpose of pursuing employment in long-term care.

Part-time positions must be at least 15 hours per week over the two-year employment commitment.

Rural, Remote and Northern Community Incentive Eligibility

Financial incentives are available to long-term care homes to support nurses located in either:

• Northern Ontario (defined by the North East and North West Ontario Health regions)
• Rural and remote Ontario (defined as communities with a Rurality Index for Ontario (RIO) score of 40 or higher)

Information for Employers

Any Ontario long-term care licensee that is publicly funded can apply to recruit RNs, RPNs and NPs through the JOIN LTC program.

Application Instructions

Long-term care homes must submit an online Employer Application. Once your application has been processed, Ontario Health will communicate your available funding and provide next steps so you can begin offering the recruitment incentives to nurses.

Please ensure that you submit your application and receive confirmation of approval before offering the incentive. You will be required to notify Ontario Health as soon as possible of any nurses recruited through the program.

Payment Schedule

Contingent on confirmation of continued employment of any participating nurse at the long-term care home, incentive funding of up to $25,000 will be disbursed to employers to be paid to each nurse in six instalments:

• $3,000 for full-time and $1,500 for part-time positions upon completion of 4 months of employment;
• $3,000 for full-time and $1,500 for part-time positions upon completion of 8 months of employment;
• $3,000 for full-time and $1,500 for part-time positions upon completion of 12 months of employment;
• $4,000 for full-time and $2,000 for part-time positions upon completion of 16 months of employment;
• $4,000 for full-time and $2,000 for part-time positions upon completion of 20 months of employment; and
• $8,000 for full-time and $4,000 for part-time positions at the conclusion of 24 months of employment.

Eligible rural and Northern incentives will be paid in two instalments:

• $5,000 for full-time and $2,500 for part-time positions upon completion of 4 months of employment; and
• $5,000 for full-time and $2,500 for part-time positions upon completion of 8 months of employment.

Eligible relocation incentives will also be paid in two instalments:

• $5,000 for full-time and $2,500 for part-time positions upon the start of employment; and
• $5,000 for full-time and $2,500 for part-time positions upon completion of 4 months of employment.

Eligibility for Nurses

To be eligible for JOIN LTC, a nurse must:

• Hold a Certificate of Registration in good standing from the College of Nurses of Ontario;
• Have not been employed as a nurse by an Ontario long-term care home in the six months prior to being hired, with the exception of those upskilling from RPN to RN or RN to NP roles;
• Have not previously received funding from the Community Commitment Program for Nurses (CCPN).
• Begin their employment with an eligible long-term care employer no earlier than December 1, 2025;
• Make a commitment to work in a publicly funded LTC home for 2 years in a full-time equivalent position to be eligible for an up to $25,000 incentive; or
• Make a commitment to work in a publicly funded LTC home for 2 years in a part-time position (at least 15 hours per week) to be eligible for an up to $12,500 incentive.

An individual eligible nurse may receive JOIN LTC incentives only once.

Additional Information for Nurses

To participate in the JOIN LTC program, please verify your eligibility above and ensure that the hiring long-term care home is participating in the program and offering the incentive. You will be required to sign a two-year employment commitment with the long-term care home, which will be submitted by your employer to Ontario Health once you are hired.

If you would like career assistance, including being connected with opportunities in long-term care, please complete an Expression of Interest Form.

Contact

If you have any questions about this initiative, please email info-hfo@ontariohealth.ca.